US stocks dip 11 points
US stocks posted a modest decline today as a weakening US dollar and a mixed batch of first-quarter earnings reports prompted unsettled investors to cash in on last week’s gains.
Disappointment over declining profit at copier maker Xerox and a reduced 2007 forecast from online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding overshadowed upbeat results from Dow Jones industrial Caterpillar. The market was also assessing a possible sale of Cendant’s travel business.
A steep drop in crude futures gave investors some relief following oil’s recent climb to a record 75 dollars a barrel. The market’s trends suggest oil prices would stabilise or retreat further in the coming weeks, said Rick Pendergraft, an equity trader for Schaeffer’s Investment Research.
“Looking at some of the data, I can see oil moving sideways or maybe lower,” said Pendergraft, who added that many oil-related stocks were overbought. “To me, it was everybody jumping on board at the same time. They didn’t think 75 could be taken out.”
Persistent worries about Iran’s nuclear arms programme nonetheless kept the market on edge. A barrel of light crude sank 1.84 to settle at 73.33 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Dow dropped 11.13, or 0.1%, to close at 11,336.32, after sliding as much as 41 points early in the session. The Dow ended on Friday at its highest level since early January 2000.
Broader stock indicators also finished lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.17, or 0.24%, to 1,308.11, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 9.48, or 0.4%, to close at 2,333.38.
